'It's been a challenging spring': Dry spell causing concerns for SE Wisconsin farmers

By: Michele Fiore Facebook | X

Posted: May 30, 2023 8:06 PM CST

NOW: ’It’s been a challenging spring’: Dry spell causing concerns for SE Wisconsin farmers

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- The recent dry spell's taking a toll on Southeast Wisconsin crops. Just about the only things growing right now are farmers' concerns.

We went to a 2,000-acre farm in Waterford, where soybean and corn crops planted less than a month ago are having a tough time in soil that feels more like rocks.

"So, if you dig down here a little bit, you can see it's - it's just dry," said Kevin Malchine, of Malchine Farms, Inc.

The Malchine family farm has been here since 1854. With no irrigation, their success relies solely on the weather.

"We're the ultimate gamblers in the sense that you put a lot of money out into the field and hope Mother Nature blesses it with the rain," said Malchine.

This year's blessings are slow to come.

"It's been a challenging spring overall," said Malchine.

It's a spring with some chilly weather, and now, not a lot of rain. Blessings right now are that advances made in farming genetics are keeping the crops alive.

"Soybeans are essentially at a standstill right now. And that's what the genetics have done, is they allow the plant to just survive, waiting for that rain to come. We're just entering a very crucial time to get some rain, otherwise we're gonna start cutting into what the potential yields are," said Malchine.

Farmers all across southeast Wisconsin are feeling the effects.

"We do have some acres that we have to plant corn yet in, and that's gonna be a challenge because the top couple three inches are pretty dry, and you need moisture for that corn seed to germinate. With the dry conditions, the ground does get pretty hard. It dries out, so the top gets pretty hard. So, we have to work the ground up. We usually do that anyway to plant seeds into the ground, but it - it will be a little bit harder on the machinery to break that crust and get the ground worked up enough so that we can get seed into the moisture and into the ground," said Dave Daniels, of Mighty Grand Dairy in Brighton Township.